


The New Parent In Town

by Onthecyberseas



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cute Kids, Elementary School, F/F, Lily is Henry's Age, Minor Belle/Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 14:23:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13250070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onthecyberseas/pseuds/Onthecyberseas
Summary: At the Storybrooke Elementary School Christmas play, Regina has the opportunity to meet the new parent and her daughter.





	The New Parent In Town

The snow fell heavily in the Storybrooke Elementary School parking lot, as Regina drove her car around in circles, desperately trying to find a spot. Cursing to herself, she swerved out of the way of a couple of idiots who clearly didn’t know how to drive. She glanced down at the clock on the navigation, thankful that she had the sense to leave an hour early. She couldn’t be late for her son’s first Christmas play, Henry was counting on her.

About two minutes later, Regina was thankful to find a parking spot a couple of rows away from the entrance of the school’s auditorium. She quickly pulled into the spot, and breathed a sigh of relief as she turned off her car.

She made her way to the entrance, and walked through the crowd of parents. Many of them looked terrified of her as she walked past them, she smiled, knowing her reputation as toughest PTA president was still intact.

Spotting Henry’s teacher, Miss Blanchard, near the box office, she walked over to her. Regina nearly stopped short as she saw that she was talking to a tall, attractive woman that she had never met before. She walked closer to them and smiled as Miss Blanchard jumped slightly upon noticing her. “Hello Regina,” she said nervously.

Regina simply smiled back, not interested in turning the evening into an argument. “Good evening,” she said, “Merry Christmas.” She turned to the mysterious woman who intrigued her. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

The woman smiled at her and held out her hand. “Maleficent, Maleficent Drake.” Regina shook it, still stunned by the woman’s beauty. “I just moved to Storybrooke with my daughter, Lily.”

“Regina Mills,” Regina introduced herself. “My son, Henry, is in the play.”

Mary cut into their conversation. “Regina is the town mayor and PTA president.”

Maleficent looked Regina up and down, her lips curling into a smile that made Regina’s heart race. “Really? I guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you.”

Regina smiled back. “Welcome to town.” She saw Henry run towards her, clad in his adorable tree costume. She gave him a hug and said, “Break a leg, Henry,” before he ran back to join the other kids backstage.

“Cute kid,” Maleficent commented, “He gets that from his mother.”

Regina flushed crimson and quickly said, “He’s adopted.” Miss Blanchard led them to their seats at the front of the auditorium. “What is Lily’s role in the play?”

Maleficent answered, “She’s working backstage.”   
As soon as the rest of the parents filed into their seats, Miss Blanchard walked on stage and addressed the audience. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming to annual Storybrooke Elementary School Christmas play! Merry Christmas and enjoy the show!”

The lights dimmed and the kids in the play, all clad in various Christmas themed costumes walked out on stage. Regina caught Henry’s eye and smiled at him. He stepped forward and narrated the story as the other kids played their roles. It was an adorable story, and she had to admit that Miss Blanchard put on a good show. Thankfully, the performance was being recorded to distribute to the parents after the new year. She found herself glancing at Maleficent at various points of the show, and she could have sworn that Maleficent was throwing glances her way as well.

As the show came to close, Regina stood up and gave a standing ovation as Henry led the other kids in bowing for the parents. The stage crew joined them, and Maleficent gave a thumbs up to a girl dressed in black that Regina assumed was her daughter Lily. The final curtain dropped and Regina went with a bunch of the other parents to the backstage entrance, with Maleficent following right behind her.

She waited as the various kids came out and ran to their parents. Henry came out and ran to her. She embraced him and said, “You were great, Henry.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Henry replied with a grin.

Regina turned to Maleficent and asked, “Would you and Lily like to join Henry and I for a post play treat at Granny’s?”

Maleficent smiled and said, “We’d love to.” They waited for Lily to come out, but the stage crew was the last of the kids to leave. Maleficent embraced Lily as she came out and told her of their plans.

The four of them made their way out to the parking lot and Regina offered to drive them. They piled into Regina’s car and she navigated them out of the lot and towards the best...and only diner in town.

Ruby greeted them with a smile as they walked inside the diner and said, “Welcome to Granny’s!” 

Regina could tell that Ruby was near the end of her shift from her tired expression and the way she kept glancing at her girlfriend, Belle, who was quietly reading a book in one of the booths with an impatient look on her face. “Hello, Ruby,” Regina said, “Table for four, please.” She seated them at the empty booth next to Belle’s. 

“What’s good here?” Maleficent said, glancing at the menu.

Henry responded quickly. “Pie!” His eyes lit up at the excitement.

Regina nodded in agreement. “You can’t go wrong with any of the pies here, though I have to say that I prefer my own apple pie to theirs.” Maleficent looked intrigued, but Ruby came over to take their orders and Regina put in hers and Henry’s orders and Maleficent ordered for herself and Lily.

While Henry and Lily busied themselves with coloring books by Ruby, Regina and Maleficent talked. Apparently, Maleficent was a single mother that had moved to Storybrooke from Boston, looking for a fresh start after a bad break-up. Regina was surprisingly relieved that she referred to her ex with female pronouns, but pretended that she didn’t have any reaction. Regina told her about life in Storybrooke and they bonded over the people they loved the most, their children.

Ruby arrived with four plates of different pie flavors, two mugs of hot chocolate for the kids (with a dash of cinnamon for Henry), and two cups of coffee for their parents.

Regina bit into her pie, and turned to Maleficent. “How do you like it?”

Maleficent looked up from her apple pie and said, “It’s good, though I’ll have to try yours sometime for comparison.”

“I’ll have to hold you to that,” Regina said, confident that she would win that competition anytime.

They finished up their pie and Ruby came over to pick up their plates and give them the bill. Maleficent reached for the bill, but Regina pulled it away. “It’s my treat.” Regina thanked Ruby when she came back and gave her an extra large tip as she paid the bill, feeling particularly generous. “Buy something nice for your bookworm,” Regina said, “Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks! Merry Christmas!” Ruby replied, smiling back at her. Regina heard Granny call her granddaughter over and told her that she could have the rest of the night off. Grinning, Ruby went over to Belle, kissed her, and the two of them walked out of the diner hand in hand.

Regina, Maleficent, Henry, and Lily left the diner, and Regina offered Maleficent and Lily a ride home. “Thank you for a lovely evening,” Maleficent said as they piled into the car. “It’s nice to know a friendly face in town.”

“I think that’s the first time somebody called me friendly,” Regina admitted, a blush rising to her cheeks. “Perhaps, I could show you around town sometime after Christmas?”

Maleficent smiled, “I’d like that. Perhaps we can do dinner afterwards without the kids.”

Regina grinned, “I like the sound of that.” The two women exchanged their information after Regina pulled up in front of Maleficent’s apartment and they wished the other a Merry Christmas as Maleficent and Lily went inside their building. Regina couldn’t stop smiling as she drove home with Henry.


End file.
